Title: Once A Winchester

Author: Rori Pond

Pairing: Sam/Ofc/Dean

Rating: A very dirty M later on in the story

Chapter One : Gimme Shelter

Shreveport, Louisiana 1989

She'd been kept in the dark, damp, basement for days on end, forced to watch the savage creatures feast on her family with their shark like rows of teeth. A piece of her died every time she watched the light in their eyes go dim as they succumbed to blood loss. You'll be last. A snack to tide us over until we can move on to the next meal. The taunted her, their dark promises whispered through the slots of the closet where she was tied down. Her wrists were chapped and bleeding, but her body was clean. They forced her to bath daily, going on and on about what a delicacy purity was, and how it should be treated with respect. Her stomach soured. When they dressed her in the white gown she knew the end was near. She fought, hard, kicked at shins, and attempted to get free. But at eight she was no match for them. They'd laughed, smacked her around for their own amusement as they toyed with her like a cat with a mouse.

It ended the same way it'd begun with her tied back down, this time in a closet upstairs. Hope was gone. Then there came the sound of a skirmish , yelling, and the pounding of feet on stairs. Chaos erupted outside, but she couldn't see anything! Her heart pounded in her chest. She curled into herself , did her best to be as tiny as possible, and blend in to the darkness. Her fear increased with every shallow breath she dared take. Bam! The door was kicked open and she screamed. A brilliant blue light blinded her. She squeezed her eyes shut tight. She held her breath, waited for the killing blow. When it didn't come she peeled back her eyelids to discover a bear of a man with the beginnings of a beard. His face was carved out of granite, his eyes were cold, and his face was splattered with blood.

"You're not a vampire at all are you?" His voice was gruff, but gentle as he kneeled down in front of her."What's your name girl?"

"M-Mari Anne." Her voice was hoarse, and her throat felt like it'd been rubbed raw with sand paper.

"Mary?"

She nodded. He sighed, and everything about him softened. Emotion turned his black eyes into a dark brown, and his face went from stone to weathered. It was the look of a man who'd seen too much. Even at her age she knew the look would be mirrored in her own.

"How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Do you have any family I can take you back too?"

Tears formed and spilled over, ran down her face. Her body shook with silent sobs.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. My name's John Winchester and its my job to get rid of all those monsters."

"T-they ate my family."

He cringed.

"I'm sorry about that Mari. I wish I'd gotten here sooner How about we get you free?" He pulled a knife from his boot. The blade glinted in the moonlight that poured through a window. She stood still as he sawed through the rope. They fell to the floor with a thump.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so." She rose on shaky legs, like a newborn colt.

His hand shot out to steady her, warm, strong, and comforting.

"Come on, Mari."

She hesitated.

"Where?"

"To my car so we can get out of here."

"And then?"

"We'll figure things out."

"No, there still out there, they'll find me, they promised."

"I promise you Mari, I won't let anything happen to you ever again."

She eyed him.

"Come on my boys are at the hotel room, you'll like them a lot. Sam is six, and Dean is ten." He made small talk that put her at ease as he guided her out of the corpse laden building and down to a sleek black car. He opened the trunk and pulled out a gas can.

"You get in the car, and I'll go torch the place. Most people don't know the monsters are real, and we want to keep it that way."

"No."

He frowned. "No?"

"I don't want to stay here by myself. Can I please go with you Mr. John."

"It's just John, Mari... I should tell you no, but after everything you've seen you deserve to be a part of this."

Together they'd headed back into the house and she'd watched as he doused the rickety, stairs with gas, leading a trail back out to the porch. He lit a match and handed it to her. She took it and tossed it down onto the ground. Her eyes watched the flame form and eat up the gas like a hungry thing. They moved down from the porch and stood by the car, watching in silence as her worse nightmare went up in smoke.

"Come on, let's get you back to the room, and tend to your wounds." John opened the passenger seat and she climbed inside, weary, but hopeful. He'd saved her from those things, he had to be at least somewhat decent right? John got behind the wheel. The car roared to life and she jumped. He chuckled.

"That's just her way of saying hi."

"Her?"

"Oh yeah, the Impala is a classy lady." He patted the dash with pride." Got to treat her right."

She nodded. They pulled away from the collapsed house and she said a prayer for her family as she said a silent goodbye. The wheels on the ground and the sway of the car lulled her into the first restful sleep she'd had in who knew how long.

A hand shook her.

"NO!" She screamed, scrambled away.

"Mari, it's just John, Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe now." His words penetrated her panic. She focused in on her surroundings. John held his hands up from his position at the wheel.

"We're at the hotel… remember I told you my boys were here?"

She nodded, ashamed and scared.

"Are you ready to get cleaned up, get some food in your belly, and meet them?"

"I think so."

He gave her a kind smile.

"Good, come on then." He stepped out of the car and she scrambled after him. When he closed the door behind him, she clutched his large, calloused, hand. He paused, peered down at her. He opened his mouth as if to speak, shook his head and continued to walk. "It's okay, I promise."

They stopped in front of a hotel room and he knocked. The door opened a crack to reveal a freckled face and piercing green eyes.

"Dad?" His brown wrinkled with confusion.

"It's me Dean."

"Christo?"

"Good Boy."

The lock slid back, the door swung open, and the two stepped inside.

"Dean this is Mari, I found her in a nest of vampires. She lost her family, and I want you and Sammy to make her feel welcome, she'll be staying with us for awhile, you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Mari this is Dean."

"Hi." Her voice squeaked and she glanced back down at the ground.

"Hi." Dean said.

"Where's Sammy?" John asked.

"Asleep on the bed."

"All right, how about we see if we can get some of his clothes for Mari? We have some loose ends to tie up Mari. We can worry about what to do with you after that."

In the end the connection between the four had been too formidable to break. She had no family and they only had each other, so the three had become four, and Winchester had been added behind Mari Ann to replace Johnson, and a sister was born out of blood, and battle.